Re-purpose Hobie 17 into tri daysailer?

Folks, I own a Hobie 17 Getaway and have enjoyed sailing it a lot but looking for a daysailer with more protection from elements spray etc.
I'm a newbie with no design experience, recently retired, and a yearning to build a trailerable trimaran. Problem : very low budget and limited room to store boats plural. I have experience in both molded and moldless glass construction (custom built aircraft). My first thought is to split my cat and stick a 20' hull in the middle between the 2 akas, all 3 hulls nose on. This should give me a fairly square (ish) planform with the best of the aka bouyancy as far forward as I can get. Is this a bad idea? I want to utilize as much of the cat as I can, but realize that I might find the existing mast sail combo inadequate to drive a heavier boat (empty will probably be at least double the weight of the cat).

 

Welcome to the Forum Andy.

Based on your description above, I am thinking that Richard Woods' Strike 18 trimaran design might be similar to what you have in mind?

Sailing Catamarans - Strike 18 trimaran using a 16ft beach cat for hulls and rig https://www.sailingcatamarans.com/index.php/designs-2/27-trimarans-under-25/168-strike-18

 

Bajansailor
thanks very much for your quick and helpful reply. I now have followed several threads using beach cats for the akas so I guess the idea has some merit. Read the Strike 18 post(s) with interest.

 

Have you looked at all the similar threads for building frankenstein tris?